All Categories - Karyn Healey Art

Griots of Cotton, Indigo, & Clay - we hear you, we see you

2/15/2022

Deborah Fite and Susan Trott at City Gallery / February 3, 2022

"The collected artworks examine the ideals
of racial pride,
social power, identity,
and the importance of land, heritage, and culture."

Griots of Cotton, Indigo & Clay - a show not to be missed at City Gallery in Charleston. On view Thursdays through Sundays, until February 27, 2022.

Telling stories about people and their connection to the land through fiber art and clay are a perfect fit but the deepth of expression and artistry pulled us in. The texture, color and amount of work for each piece shows true love for the form and the stories. Thank you Cookie Washington for bringing the magic once again.

So glad we were able to see the show and learn about the organizations behind it. Take a look and register for a ticket.
citygalleryatwaterfrontpark.com/current-exhibition/

Connecting the dots in no particular order - things happen in threes

11/3/2021

The lower pennisula of Michigan

Cutting paper. Lots of little paper at lightning speed and filling tiny spaces. Scanned, printed and collaged on top. It was really wonderful. So intuitive - and messy.
threepinesstudioandgallery.godaddysites.com/

Ken Kewley was the instructor with Clara as his assistant. We also built little stages based on one of our previous paintings so paint, cut and paste became 3D - It was like courses from college all over again.
kenkewley.com/
And the best place to see work from his workshops, past and present, is on his Instgram page.
www.instagram.com/ken_kewley_workshops

I did not follow instructions, and pulled from each of my 3 reference paintings, instead of recreating one of them, to create a mash-up of Hello Beautiful, Farmers Market and Afternoon Tea. A change in scale was the name of the game.

Next came Portuguese bread and lobster rolls

Off to Cape Cod to zero in on color with Mitchell Johnson. We worked on 18x24" which is big for me, but did all the mixing and painting with a tiny palette knife. I'm a convert. And to get my paintings home in a poster tube, I scraped the paint off which has the little grey cells thinking about scraping and adding on. www.castlehill.org/#intro-page
www.mitchelljohnson.com/ Mitchell and Castlehill are both on FB and Instagram.

Close to Home workshop was all about the greens and plein aire from the porch

And the warm up for all the workshops was actually online with Eve Mansdorf and Tim Kennedy and facilitated by Black Pond Studio. Lots of greens, scraping (!) and literally attaching painted panels to expand the view. Great discussions and citriques with artists from multiple time zones. The trifecta of workshops was a wonderful whirlwind and I'm glad I could do them all.
www.blackpondstudio.com/
www.blackpondstudio.com/past-workshops/1/6

And now connecting the dots a bit after the workshops and adding casein paint into the mix for the bottom two paintings. Always learning.

A reunion of collaborators

6/2/2021

Well the Mother Figure show is wrapping up June 5 at Public Works Art Center in Summerville www.publicworksartcenter.org/ and I was honored to be included in this creative show exploring moms and motherhood. The community involvement with a message wall and photo wall made it very special.

The energy that community brings to a project is always an unknown and my submissions from a previous show also included helping hands and some unknowns. Part of my Women's Work solo show in 2017 included a call to women far and wide for "selfies" complete with hashtags and trinkets of love for a drawer assemblage. The response could not have been better. My collaborators were generous and creative with their submissions.

May 2021 seemed like the perfect time for a reunion so twelve of us gathered for lunch, conversation and a trip to Public Works Art Center to see their contributions in another context. It was nice to connect the team members with others they didn't know. What a great bunch and I hope we can work together again.

Here's a blog post for the Mother Figure show at Public Works -
www.karynhealeyart.com/blog/its-may-a-time-for-moms-lessons-learned-and-chipping-in
And a blog post from the original show, Women's Work -
www.karynhealeyart.com/blog/selfies-in-womens-work-show-who-am-i

Hello, Beautiful has a new home

5/19/2021

The juried 2 and 3D portion of North Charleston Arts Fest has come and gone and it was an outstanding show this year. The energy in the room was wonderful after so many months of art in isolation. Lots of hard work was on display the student art was uplifting. I know what it took to get it all there!

Hello, Beautiful is a painting that begs a longer look. Truthfully when I started it my focus was on the mannequins and how funny they looked. But later I saw the woman was in a sort of conversation with the chorus line and the paradigm shifted.

So I'm very pleased to say that in addition to earning an Honorable Mention for Hello, Beautiful the work earned a Purchase Award by the city of North Charleston. The painting will be part of their permanent collection on display at city hall where all kinds of people will see it going about their daily lives. Thank you to Ann Simmons, Deputy Director Cultural Arts Department on the left, and Kyle Lahm, Cultural Arts Director. It doesn't get much better than this.

Learn more -
northcharlestonartsfest.com/

It's May - a time for moms, lessons learned, and chipping in

5/7/2021

There's a thoughtful show currently on view at Public Works Art Center in Summerville, SC. and I've been included in the Mother Figure show in the West Gallery until June 5, 2021.
www.publicworksartcenter.org/

My contributions include a Drawer of Love - Mother's Little Helpers and a collection of self portraits submitted as selfies complete with hashtags. These are personal responses that depict the passions, creativity, and generosity of some amazing women who credit their moms and share mom qualities every day regardless of giving birth or not.

#themotherfigure...
#asourceofhelp
#asourceofadviceandsupport
#aninfluencer #arulesetter #arolemodel

#aleaderofmen #ateacherofchildren
#ateambuilder #acheerleader

#momsseeall #themomgaze #themomglare

#momsetsthecode #momsetsthebar #momsetsthestageforlife
#singleparentstrong
#withinnerstrength #withinnerpeace

#momsnurture #momscultivate #momscomeinallshapesandsizes
#anyonecandoit #thankyoumom

My mom taught me to look around and see the world in different ways. And she also taught me to be a helper. These 2 studies have been donated to Dorchester Paws and their silent auction in June. Happy to help! dorchesterpaws.org/events/prom/

Our silent auction will open the 13th-20th with items viewable in person at our event on June 19th.
No ticket is needed to bid on the Silent Auction.
Live Auction will only be held in person on June 19th.
Click the link to view our items:
secure.maestroweb.com/List.aspx?OrgID=1798&ItemCategory=Silent&Selection=1

In the midst of a long hot summer, Mother Nature is always there

7/25/2020

I started this post at the end of July and never finished it. Obviously what struck me during the chaos of the pandemic was what was going on outside. While we were bickering about masks vs non-masks which became a new political identifier, or if the Chy-na virus was just a hoax, Mother Nature seemed to be in overdrive here in South Carolina. Perhaps the plan was to be reassuring that the earth would continue to turn. Or maybe to distract us from the isolation, uncertainty and monkey mind.

For those of us who took the time to look, the views were amazing.

Thank you, Mother.

When life gives you lemons, you Feed the Need

4/25/2020

New Territory
We find ourselves in difficult times and artists, also reinventing their selling options on almost a daily basis, are banding together to help food and bev workers in Charleston.

I'm so happy to be involved in this effort to help both food and bev folks but also our amazing local farmers and purveyors who supply the closed eateries and bars. They are also scrambling.

Online art auction starts tomorrow
Feed the Need's Pay It Forward efforts will put grocery bags filled with fresh foods from local farmers and purveyors into the hands of out-of-work F&B folks. An online art auction with artwork from over 100 Charleston artists goes live on Sunday, April 26 at 5pm ... check it out at www.32auctions.com/ArtistsforFeedtheNeed

I've donated two food and farm related paintings to the effort. They are both 14 x 14", oil on cradled birch, in a floating black frame.
The top one is called Grinding Corn at the Farmer's Market and the lower image is Hummus on a Ritz is Fine Dining. Our local market is amazing and this machine is a magnet for the curious. It sounds like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as it grinds corn into meal. And even a simple plate of hummus and crackers can be plated and served with love.

Overload 2020 / diversion is a paradigm shift

4/21/2020

So here we are. Day number... I don't know, really. It doesn't matter and what's going on here is not the same as in NY, HI, TX or AR so no point in pontificating. All peaks are different, all compliance is different, all rules are different and for some, all bets are off.

Here's a positive for me - the alone time is my happy place and staying put has its benefits. There are so many ways to connect with people, and I'm glad community is a focus for the many in need.

But slowing down and looking around affords a new view - like this supine photo of a reflective light fixture. And taking the time to explore the same subject in different ways has been wonderful. Here are some of those diversions.

Female Artists have much to say - some of them whisper, some shout

1/29/2020

It's been an interesting few days learning about female artists from the late 1800's through the 1960's. The Gibbes Museum new show Central to Their Lives: Southern Women Artists in the Johnson Collection is thought provoking. Art Historian Martha Severens presented a lecture today followed by a gallery tour. The work spans impressionism to cubism and shows the artists' grit and determination. Hard to imagine what they went through to study and create their work. Here are some close ups. Their personal journeys beg to be explored.

Have you seen the challenge on social media to name six female artists?

Piece of cake.

Detail of an Alice Neel portrait at the Walker Art Center

What a week. I also discovered a podcast that is the spirit sister of the Gibbes Museum show. Like peas and carrots.

Thank you Hyperallergic!! The article is entitled A Podcast on Radical Women Unearths Rare Interviews With Alice Neel, Betye Saar, and More. I'm hooked and can't wait to hear the interviews with these 20th century women.

Art is busting out all over town

11/17/2019

Move over Sweet Tea, there's a new game in town and a another reason to spend the day in the "ville." I've grouped together some new and existing art venues into what I'm calling ArtLoop Summerville, and although it's not walkable the list does connect our ever expanding community in an artful way.

1. First stop is Art on the Square in the Nexton community and they are set to open Friday, November 22. The gallery will represent over 30 artists offering painting, photography, sculpture, pottery, jewelry, stained glass and mosaics. This new space in Nexton Square is easily accessible with free parking and is located next to shopping and dining!

2. Jump on North Main Street in the direction of downtown Summerville and drop by Coastal Coffee Roasters. They are all about community and above the "community table" is the Everything Happens for a Reason art space where experienced and emerging artists display their work on a short term basis. Chat with the people at the next table as you take in the artful view and enjoy the coffee, tea, beer and wine, or any of the hunger taming items on the menu.

3. Continue on North Main Street and park at Hutchinson Square to visit the new East Winds Gallery within the retail space, East Winds. The works of five artists are on display along with jewelry and clothing. They just had their opening so give them a call to learn more. 843-875-8985 / 134 S Main St, Summerville, SC 29483

4. Around the corner on West Richardson is Public Works Art Center where renovation is underway to provide art education and studio work space in the center of town. It's the first of its kind in Summerville and has been setting up outdoors during Third Thursdays until the space is ready to go.

So if you're a local,
a transplant,
passing through,
or just visiting
your sister Sue,
add ArtLoop Summerville
to your list of things to do.

Shoot the Loop!